Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Miley's reasons for abandoning Twitter, to Kanye's abandoning of an awards show, to Canada's indie scene's abandoning of insignificance in the US, and since it's Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* Forget the Nobel Peace Prize, forget the bombing of the moon, the biggest news in the world this past week was that Miley Cyrus decided to leave Twitter. OK, so perhaps it wasn't the biggest news in the world, but in her rap song ... yes, you read that right, and yes, you were totally right to sigh when you did ... she discussed the many reasons why she decided to give it up (he he, I said "give it up"). One reason in particular is something I feel deserves to be mentioned – gossip sites using celebrity tweets as quotes for articles and basing stories around them. I've discussed this with a number of my peers and we all agree that using a tweet as a quote is bad journalism. It's lazy and it shouldn't be considered acceptable. If you ever need an indicator to differentiate between a real journalist and someone who's just playing one on the net, this would be a good one. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.
* The BET Awards were filmed over the weekend and there was one major no-show - Kanye West. Many people feel he skipped the show to keep a low profile and not potentially make another scene, but let's be real here, it's a taped program and Kanye's antics, whether pre-planned or not, require the spontaneity of live television. In addition to that, ‘Ye needs a crowd to cause a scene, and more people watch me bag my groceries than pay attention to the BET Awards (slight exaggeration).
* Anyone who has ever tuned in to MuchMusic knows how great Canada's music scene is. Sadly, while many Canadian artists find high levels of fame in their home country, their work seems to get stopped at the border as they historically have a tough time breaking into the US market. A group of Canadian indie labels have come together in hopes of changing that. Led by Toronto-based Last Gang Records founder Chris Taylor, along with Sonic Unyon Records, Dine Alone Records, Paper Bag Records and Underground Operations, these labels have formed Rock Steady, a new label services company which aims to help independent Canadian artists get some love south of their border. Rock Steady's headquarters is in Los Angeles and the company's goal is to provide PR, sales, and radio promotions to Canadian labels that already have distribution in the US (perhaps through a service such as, oh, I don't know, this very website!). The company received a nice initial boost from their government as the Ontario Media Development Corporation provided initial funding of $275,000 (US) to go with the $91,000 (US) ($100K Canadian) each of the labels threw into the pot to start the company. Like I said, Canada has a great music scene, so I really hope this works. If it does it may even force US labels to step up their game.
* Speaking of Canada, last week I caught the NYC date of Lights' North American tour and lemme tell ya, if she's coming to your city, make it a point to go to the show. She is a fantastic live performer and her 80's synth pop vibe, mixed with her naturally friendly personality, make her shows the perfect remedy for any stress you may have in your life. If you've been reading this column for any length of time you already know she's one of my favorite new artists, check out one of her shows and find out why.
* The Almost's Monster Monster isn't due to hit stores until the first Tuesday in November, but thanks to a partnership with Hot Topic - the home of inexpensive body jewelry, wallet chains and all things dark in nature, but not so dark as to worry your parents - fans of the band will be able to hear some new songs a full month before then with the October 6th release of a limited edition five-track EP that will be available at Hot Topic stores, the band's website, and on the group's upcoming tour.The package will include the full length packaging for Monster Monster and two CDs, one of music - three album cuts and two b-sides - and one blank disc with a promotional code to use to download the full album on the day of its release. The Almost gets an A for creativity for this promotion and if it proves to be successful it could create a whole new way for artists to get their albums to listeners.
* Finally, because I like you, I'm closing this week's edition of Pop Shots with the video for Make The Girl Dance's "Baby Baby Baby." Something tells me nobody will get it confused with Amy Grant's "Baby Baby." Enjoy!
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
* Forget the Nobel Peace Prize, forget the bombing of the moon, the biggest news in the world this past week was that Miley Cyrus decided to leave Twitter. OK, so perhaps it wasn't the biggest news in the world, but in her rap song ... yes, you read that right, and yes, you were totally right to sigh when you did ... she discussed the many reasons why she decided to give it up (he he, I said "give it up"). One reason in particular is something I feel deserves to be mentioned – gossip sites using celebrity tweets as quotes for articles and basing stories around them. I've discussed this with a number of my peers and we all agree that using a tweet as a quote is bad journalism. It's lazy and it shouldn't be considered acceptable. If you ever need an indicator to differentiate between a real journalist and someone who's just playing one on the net, this would be a good one. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.* The BET Awards were filmed over the weekend and there was one major no-show - Kanye West. Many people feel he skipped the show to keep a low profile and not potentially make another scene, but let's be real here, it's a taped program and Kanye's antics, whether pre-planned or not, require the spontaneity of live television. In addition to that, ‘Ye needs a crowd to cause a scene, and more people watch me bag my groceries than pay attention to the BET Awards (slight exaggeration).
* Anyone who has ever tuned in to MuchMusic knows how great Canada's music scene is. Sadly, while many Canadian artists find high levels of fame in their home country, their work seems to get stopped at the border as they historically have a tough time breaking into the US market. A group of Canadian indie labels have come together in hopes of changing that. Led by Toronto-based Last Gang Records founder Chris Taylor, along with Sonic Unyon Records, Dine Alone Records, Paper Bag Records and Underground Operations, these labels have formed Rock Steady, a new label services company which aims to help independent Canadian artists get some love south of their border. Rock Steady's headquarters is in Los Angeles and the company's goal is to provide PR, sales, and radio promotions to Canadian labels that already have distribution in the US (perhaps through a service such as, oh, I don't know, this very website!). The company received a nice initial boost from their government as the Ontario Media Development Corporation provided initial funding of $275,000 (US) to go with the $91,000 (US) ($100K Canadian) each of the labels threw into the pot to start the company. Like I said, Canada has a great music scene, so I really hope this works. If it does it may even force US labels to step up their game.
* Speaking of Canada, last week I caught the NYC date of Lights' North American tour and lemme tell ya, if she's coming to your city, make it a point to go to the show. She is a fantastic live performer and her 80's synth pop vibe, mixed with her naturally friendly personality, make her shows the perfect remedy for any stress you may have in your life. If you've been reading this column for any length of time you already know she's one of my favorite new artists, check out one of her shows and find out why.
* The Almost's Monster Monster isn't due to hit stores until the first Tuesday in November, but thanks to a partnership with Hot Topic - the home of inexpensive body jewelry, wallet chains and all things dark in nature, but not so dark as to worry your parents - fans of the band will be able to hear some new songs a full month before then with the October 6th release of a limited edition five-track EP that will be available at Hot Topic stores, the band's website, and on the group's upcoming tour.The package will include the full length packaging for Monster Monster and two CDs, one of music - three album cuts and two b-sides - and one blank disc with a promotional code to use to download the full album on the day of its release. The Almost gets an A for creativity for this promotion and if it proves to be successful it could create a whole new way for artists to get their albums to listeners.
* Finally, because I like you, I'm closing this week's edition of Pop Shots with the video for Make The Girl Dance's "Baby Baby Baby." Something tells me nobody will get it confused with Amy Grant's "Baby Baby." Enjoy!
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
[Tags] POP
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